Concessional contributions cap

Contributions splitting does not reduce the amount counted towards your concessional contributions cap. Your super fund reports to us all the contributions that were made for you, including any contributions that were later transferred to your spouse after a contributions splitting application.

Who should complete this application

Complete this application if you want to increase your spouse's super by giving them some of your super. When you split your contributions, you transfer or roll over a portion of the contributions you recently made to your super account to your spouse's super account.

For this application, the definition of spouse includes a person (of any sex):

you are legally married to

you are in a relationship with that is registered under certain state or territory laws

who lives with you on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple (known as a 'de facto spouse').

When can you apply to split your contributions

You can apply to split your contributions when you are any age, but your spouse must be either:

less than the preservation age that applies to them, or

aged between their preservation age and 65 years, and not retired.

You lodge this application with your super fund in the financial year:

immediately after the financial year in which the contributions were made

the contributions were made, only if your entire benefit is being withdrawn before the end of that financial year as a rollover, transfer, lump sum benefit or combination of these.

For example, if you are applying in the 2017-18 financial year, the super contributions to be split must have been made on or after 1 July 2016.

When an application is invalid

Your application to split your contributions is invalid if any of the following applies:

you have already applied in that financial year and the trustee of your fund has received your application

the amount of benefits you have applied to split is more than the maximum amount that can be split

There are two main types of contributions that can be split with your spouse:

taxed splittable contributions

untaxed splittable employer contributions.

Other contributions types cannot be split.

Taxed splittable contributions

You can ask your super fund to transfer, to your spouse, up to 85% of a financial year's taxed splittable contributions. These are generally any:

contributions your employer made for you (your before-tax contributions), including any salary sacrifice contributions

personal contributions you made for yourself that you have advised your super fund you will claim a tax deduction for.

These contributions can include other amounts, such as amounts allocated by your super fund from a reserve or surplus to meet an employer's liability to make contributions. Contact your super fund for details of what contributions were made for you and whether they can be split.

The maximum amount of taxed splittable contributions you can apply to split is the lesser of 85% of the concessional contributions for that financial year and the concessional contributions cap for that financial year.

Untaxed splittable employer contributions

If you are a member of a public sector super scheme, the employer contributions that are made for you may be untaxed splittable employer contributions.

You can transfer to your spouse 100% of untaxed splittable employer contributions made for you in a financial year, if that amount is less than the concessional contributions cap for that financial year.

Some public sector schemes are not able to offer contributions splitting. You should contact your super fund for advice about splitting untaxed contributions before completing this application.

What contributions cannot be split

Any contributions that are not taxed splittable contributions or untaxed splittable contributions cannot be split with your spouse - for example, splitting is not available for personal contributions you cannot claim a deduction for.

Types of contributions that can be split:

employer contributions

salary sacrifice contributions

personal contributions that you can claim a deduction for

contributions made by family and friends (other than those made by your spouse or for a child under 18 years old)

allocations from reserves that are assessable, such as allocations that meet an employer's obligation to contribute.

Types of contributions that can't be split:

personal contributions that you can't claim a deduction for

contributions you make with a capital gains tax (CGT) cap election for small business

contributions you make with a personal injury election

contributions made by your spouse to your super

contributions made for you in you are under 18 years old (unless made by your employer)

transfers from foreign funds

other allocations from reserves

rollover super benefit

contributions that have already been split

government co-contributions

government low income super tax offset contribution

First home super saver scheme contributions

Downsizer contributions

temporary resident contributions

trustee contributions

a super interest that is subject to a payment split (due to a relationship breakdown).

Example 1: typical splitting arrangement

John's employer contributed $10,000 to his super fund in the 2017-18 financial year. John talks to his super fund about splitting his 2017-18 contributions with his wife Mary, who works part-time. The fund advises John that he is eligible to apply after 30 June 2018.

John completes the Superannuation contributions splitting application and lodges it with his fund in August 2018. He indicates that he would like to split $7,000 of his employer contributions (taxed splittable contributions).

His super fund accepts his application and determines that it is valid because $7,000 is less than:

85% of the $10,000 contributed by his employer, and

the concessional contributions cap.

His super fund transfers $7,000 to Mar's super fund in September 2018.

End of example

Example 2: effect on the contributions caps

In 2017-18, Marita had a salary sacrifice arrangement and the super contributions made for her for the financial year are as follows:

Salary sacrifice contributions

$20,000

Employer contributions

$10,000

Total employer contributions

$30,000

After the end of the financial year, Marita and her partner Ken visited an investment adviser who advised Marita to cut back her salary sacrifice to only $15,000 and advised her she would need to pay excess contributions because had contributed more than the $25,000 concessional contributions cap for 2017-18.

A friend later told Marita about contributions splitting. Maria and her friend thought that splitting her contributions with Ken might eliminate the excess contributions made in 2017-18.

Marita completes the Superannuation contributions splitting application and lodges it with her fund, requesting that 85% of her 2017-18 employer contributions be split with Ken. Marita's fund advised:

they could not accept the application because she was not permitted to split $25,500 (85% of $30,000) with Ken as the amount was more than the $25,000 concessional contributions cap

they could accept a new application for a split of $83.33%, but they were required by law to report that $30,000 had been contributed for her

she should seek professional advice about excess contributions tax.

Maria goes ahead with the 83.33% split. She later receives an assessment of excess contributions tax from us based on her concessional contributions of $30,000.

End of example

How to complete this application

Section A: your details

Provide your full name, address and contact details.

You don't have to provide your tax file number (TFN) to your super fund on this form, but it may help your super fund identify your account if you do.

If your super fund does not have your TFN, they cannot accept personal contributions (and other member contributions) and extra tax may be deducted from your employer contributions (and other assessable contributions).

Section B: your fund's details

Provide the name of your super fund, the fund's Australian business number (ABN) and your member account number.

This information will help your super fund identify your account. Providing your super fund's ABN will help an administrator of a number of separate funds make sure they have the correct fund.

You will find your fund's ABN on your product disclosure statement or member statement. You can search for their details by visiting Superfund LookupExternal Link or find it on your super fund's website. You can also phone your super fund to ask them for their ABN.

Section C: your spouse's details

Provide your spouse's full name, address and contact details.

Your spouse does not have to provide their TFN to their super fund. However, if the super fund does not have their TFN, the fund cannot accept personal contributions (and other member contributions), and extra tax may be deducted from employer contributions (and other assessable contributions).

Section D: your spouse's fund details

Provide the name of your spouse's super fund. Providing the fund's ABN will prevent confusion between funds with similar names and may allow electronic processing of the transfer.

Provide your spouse's member account number. This is the account the split contributions will be transferred to. If you do not provide the correct information, your spouse's super fund may not be able to accept the payment.

Amounts cannot be transferred to a super account that has been closed, or to an account a pension is being paid from.

Your spouse can open a new account to receive the contributions and may need to complete a membership application to open a new account.

Section E: contributions splitting details

Question 19 - financial year ending

Provide the financial year in which the super contributions were made to your account.

Our commitment to you

We are committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and clear information to help you understand your rights and entitlements and meet your obligations.

If you follow our information and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we will take that into account when determining what action, if any, we should take.

Some of the information on this website applies to a specific financial year. This is clearly marked. Make sure you have the information for the right year before making decisions based on that information.

If you feel that our information does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, contact us or seek professional advice.